Urban Meyer: I was depressed, 'mentally broke' at Florida

Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer used a mixture of alcohol and Ambien to sleep when coaching at Florida, according to a report

SI Wire | Sep 20, 2014

Urban Meyer: I was depressed, 'mentally broke' at Florida /

Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer told reporters he was mentally broke when he coached at the University of Florida in 2009 and relied on a mixture of alcohol and Ambien to sleep, according to an upcoming report from HBO's 'Real Sports' cited by ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

Meyer said he became depressed and lost 37 pounds during the season in which the Gators went 13-1 and won the Sugar Bowl. After his team's loss to Alabama in the SEC championship game, Meyer said he was admitted to a hospital with chest pains and thought he was dying.

Fan Gallery - Ohio State

Buckeyes fans, dressed like head coach Jim Tressel, cheered their team on against the Michigan Wolverines in this 2004 match-up between the longtime rivals.

Even though Ohio State faced Notre Dame in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, this fan took a second to remind Buckeye fans that the Fighting Irish aren't the only enemy.

Even in 1957, Ohio State fans flocked to Ohio Stadium to see their Buckeyes.

OSU fans celebrated during the 2003 Fiesta Bowl against Miami at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

Ohio State fans pulled sod from the Ohio Stadium field after the Buckeyes capped a 13-0 season by defeating Michigan 14-9 on Nov. 23, 2002, in Columbus, Ohio.

In his prime, Maurice Clarett was the toast of Columbus, as evidenced by this sign imploring the school to "Free Maurice" after he was suspended prior to the 2003 season for accepting special benefits from a family friend. Since then, life has gone downhill for Clarett, who was arrested earlier this week following a police chase that resulted in four loaded guns being found in his SUV.

In this game from the 2005 season, Buckeye fans gave a giant O in O-H-I-O during a timeout against Miami Ohio University at Ohio Stadium.

Columbus Police were positioned as a wedge to keep fans from the goalpost after Ohio State beat Michigan, 37-21 on Nov. 20, 2004, in Columbus, Ohio.

Buckeye fans cheered the Ohio State band as it performed before kickoff of the 2006 Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.

Ohio State fans flooded the field and carried quarterback Craig Krenzel (16) on their shoulders after the Buckeyes defeated Michigan in November 2002.

Over 100,000 fans packed Ohio Stadium to see the Buckeyes defeat Iowa 31-6 in September, 2005.

Buckeye fans took their excitement out on the goalposts after defeating Michigan, 14-9 in November, 2002.

Meyer even had difficulty enjoying his 2008 team's national championship win.

Meyer said after Florida won the national title after the 2008 season he didn't -- and couldn't -- enjoy the victory. He began recruiting literally minutes after the 24-14 win over

Oklahoma

in the BCS title game in Miami ended.

"I was in a panic situation," Meyer said. "We just won it. We got to do it again. I close the door. And I started just recruiting. One of my friends came and said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Enjoy, what's wrong with you, man? Enjoy this.' I tried."

Meyer resigned from Florida at the end of the 2010 season. He leads an Ohio State Buckeyes team that is 2-1 and faces Cincinnati next Saturday.

Meyer stepping down at UF

- Will Green

Published Sep 20, 2014

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